Irish general election, 1950

The Irish general election, 1950 was held on 6 February 1950. The people of Ireland elected a new Dail Eireann less than a year after the 1949 snap election, and Fianna Fail won the election in a landslide, defeating Fine Gael and winning in every county but County Louth, County Meath, and County Dublin, which voted for Fine Gael by a narrow margin of less than 5 points.

History
In the 1949 snap election, Fianna Fail won a plurality of seats in the Dail Eireann, but Fine Gael and Sinn Fein remained in power in a "Comhaontas na Ceart" minority government. The Fiachsteria debt crisis continued to weigh heavily on the minds of the Irish electorate, as did the Emergency Powers Act 1939. As Fine Gael and Sinn Fein were forced into a minority government, the opposition jumped at the opportunity to push for another election. Before the voting results for the 1949 election could be counted, the government prepared for new elections, which were to end on 6 February 1950.

Fianna Fail had embarked on a national grassroots campaign, increasing party support exponentially. During the election, Fianna Fail swept the country in a green tide. In some counties, Fianna Fail won large majorities, such as in County Sligo, where it won 66% of the vote. In County Waterford, Fianna Fail even succeeded in achieving a supermajority with 87.5% of the vote. Only in County Dublin did Fine Gael manage to have the largest number of votes, emerging at the top (with 29.3% of the vote) of a three-way contest with Fianna Fail (with 26.5%) and Sinn Fein (with 24.6%).

Fianna Fail won the election with 62.60% of the vote, the first electoral defeat of the Comhaontas na Ceart coalition. Fianna Fail leader Colm O'Farrell became the new Taoiseach, and he formed a majority government. His party remained in power unmolested for two years, but the continuing trend of Fiachsteria led to O'Farrell being forced to call the 1952 election, in which the Irish Labor Party surpassed Fine Gael as the second party.

Results

 * Fianna Fail glyph.png Fianna Fail - 62.60%
 * Sinn Fein logo.jpg Sinn Fein - 17.28%
 * fine Gael glyph.png Fine Gael - 10.8%
 * Irish Labor Party glyph.png Irish Labor Party - 9.31%